bird surveillance

 

I've had this idea rolling around in my head for a couple of years - depicting birds

with a visual representation of their call or song.

I've never done anything with it because whenever I articulate it to myself, it sounds stupid. but the idea or image keeps coming back to me, and the purpose of writing this blog is nothing if not to get over judgements like that. who cares if it's stupid? (I mean, I care, apparently, but I'll try to overlook that for now)

 

 

to that end, I managed to record a couple of mynahs (nesting?)

on the drainpipes outside my classroom.

they seem pretty paranoid of human attention in general, so I tried to appear disinterested in them

as I casually (oh so casually) snapped a photo and recorded them with the voice memo feature on my phone.

 

I captured a short but spirited exchange as they discussed something or other.

I'm not sure how best to translate the recording into a visual representation of their conversation, or how to go about removing the background noise, but I guess I'll cross that bridge later. for now, just did a quick-and-dirty sketch using the 'brushes' app.

 

this morning as I walked up the stairs from the parking lot, gripping my shitty 7-11 coffee and not quite awake, I was stopped in my tracks by one of my favorite sounds: the rubber-bandy, quirky call of a white tern, very close. I looked up to see one sitting by itself in a tree directly above me.

 

we stared at each other, he lost interest, I got out my phone and started recording and taking some photos. he closed his eyes as if to nap, and then opened them again as three other white terns flew by. he chattered at them, not quite as loudly as the first time, but I managed to catch it on tape.

 

these birds are so cute, I can't even stand it.

 

 

 

this video, shot on midway, does a great job of capturing their voice, part cackle, part rubber band:

 

 

Rubber Band Birds from Barb Mayer on Vimeo.

 

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dude emerging slowly from the fog

We have a new and fabulous model sitting for us.

Imagine sitting motionless for a total of 12 hours in the same position. Granted, that's spread over 4 weeks (3 hours once a week), but still. I don't think many people would have the patience (myself included) to sit still with their thoughts for that long, let alone while people stare and scrutinize...

 

3 photos taken over the course of last night's session.

I like documenting the emergence of an image, from its ghostly beginnings through to where thrillingly recognizable features begin to come forward and announce themselves.

 

He's got a great mug, this dude.

 

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letting go of expectations

 

most of the time, i find that i do not sit down to draw/paint because

i cannot get past my own expectations that whatever i'm about to make has to be perfect and awesome.

because i know i cannot guarantee that outcome,

those unrealistic expectations are usually enough to send me away from the sketchbook.

 

 

quickie sketch of rabbit island with cloudy-bits in the background, using a brush pen. hard for me to work with but the feel of the brush really reminds me of all those thousands-years-old chinese brush paintings i saw at the museum last summer.

i sort of felt like i was maybe obligated to add some abstract cranes making their way across the sky.

 

 

why can't an imperfect, not-necessarily awesome piece still be a success?

it's hard to accomplish for me, but so worthwhile

when i can remove that expectation of awesomeness

and simply enjoy the process of seeing and sketching.

 

 

fast sketch using a micron fine-tip pen. though i truly feel most at ease with graphite (aka pencils) because you can get so much nuance from it, i also like scribbly sketches with a skinny marker. for some reason i really enjoy the feel of working so fast and scribbly.

rabbit island to the left, ko`olaus to the right, itty-bitty makapu`u lighthouse somewhere in between.

 

so worthwhile, though.

it's truly the only time i can silence the chatter in my brain

and feel momentarily at peace.

i'm even ok with the less-than-perfect finished products because i remember

how calming it was to draw them in the first place.

 

 

rabbit island sillhouette with clouds in the background. i toyed with the idea of adding stylized and uber-detailed water, but my book was calling to me so i let it be.

waimanalo, oahu

9-30-12

 

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